Nigeria owes a total of ₦28.63 trillion as public debts. This was revealed in the recently published Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock (Q1 2020) by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Of this sum, a total of ₦9.99 trillion are external debts while ₦18.64 trillion are domestic. States and the Federal Capital Territory owe a total of ₦4.11 trillion. A total of ₦14,53 trillion is owed by the Federal Government alone.
Summary of Nigeria’s Debt Stock Q1 2020 and Q4 2019
| S/N | Debt Category | Amount Outstanding Q1 2020 (₦’M) | Amount Outstanding Q4 2019 (₦’M) | Percentage Change (%) |
| 1 | Total External Debt | 9,987,303.26 | 9,022,421.64 | 10.69 |
| 2 | Total Domestic Debt | 18,641,190.37 | 18,378,959.65 | 1.43 |
| 3 | FGN Only | 14,534,746.84 | 14,272,644.79 | 1.84 |
| 4 | States & FCT | 4,106,443.53 | 4,106,314.86 | 0.00 |
| 5 | Total Public Debt (1+2) | 28,628,493.63 | 27,401,381.29 | 4.48 |
The data published by NBS also showed that Nigeria’s total external debts increased by over 10.69 percent between December 2019 and March 2020. Domestic debt only increased by 1.43 percent. no significant increase was documented on the debt of states and FCT between the two successive quarters. However, the federal government’s debt increased by 1.84 percent. a total increase of 4.48 percent was documented between the end of Q4 2019 and the end of Q1 2020.
A state by state distribution of debts was also provided by the recent NBS’ report. Of the 36 states and the FCT, Yobe, Anambra, and Jigawa had the least debts. On the other hand, Lagos, Rivers, and Akwa-Ibom had the most debts at the end of Q1 2020. The top ten most indebted states in Nigeria include Plateau (₦130.73 billion), Osun (₦137.31 billion), Ogun (₦143.53 billion), Bayelsa (₦154.95 billion), Imo (₦164 billion), Cross-Rivers (₦165.92 billion), Delta (₦230.75 billion), Akwa-Ibom (₦240.03 billion), Rivers (₦266.94 billion), and Lagos (₦444.23 billion).
Dataphyte Chart of The Day: What do Nigerians think of Fuel Subsidy?
Data Source: Dataphyte Research and Budget Office#subsidy #nigeria #datajournalism #dataphyte pic.twitter.com/jBUqUQsJJY— Dataphyte (@Dataphyte) July 14, 2020
While Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP is still below the average in Africa, there are indications that sub-national governments are borrowing beyond the expected debt threshold. The debt profile of the 36 states contravened the guidelines of the Debt Management Office. Ordinary, states should not have outstanding loans that are above 50 percent of their total revenues in the previous 12 months.
Debt financing at the subnational level in Nigeria has been a recurrent concern. Some of the concerns are derived from the inability of states to meet certain statutory obligations. Besides, many states appear to lack a clear-cut sustainability plan in their borrowing. A report in 2018 indicated that Lagos, Osun, and Cross River states had debts over 480 per cent of their gross revenues. 18 other states exceeded their revenues by more than 200 per cent. Debts at the subnational level have reportedly compounded Nigeria’s problems.
Thus, it is important to control borrowing at the subnational level. Measures should be developed to ensure sustainability in borrowing. Also, there is a need for states to work towards bringing their respective consolidated debts within the 50 per cent threshold of their total revenue. This will guarantee general debt sustainability in the country.